noun 1. any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate. 2. strong amorous feeling or desire; love; ardor. 3. strong sexual desire; lust. 4. an instance or experience of strong love or sexual desire. 5. a person toward whom one feels strong love or sexual desire. 6. a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything: a passion for music. 7. the object of such a fondness or desire: Accuracy became a passion with him. 8. an outburst of strong emotion or feeling: He suddenly broke into a passion of bitter words. 9. violent anger. 10. the state of being acted upon or affected by something external, especially something alien to one’s nature or one’s customary behavior (contrasted with ). 11. (often initial capital letter) Theology.

12. Archaic. the sufferings of a martyr. /ˈpæʃən/noun 1. ardent love or affection 2. intense sexual love 3. a strong affection or enthusiasm for an object, concept, etc: a passion for poetry 4. any strongly felt emotion, such as love, hate, envy, etc 5. a state or outburst of extreme anger: he flew into a passion 6. the object of an intense desire, ardent affection, or enthusiasm 7. an outburst expressing intense emotion: he burst into a passion of sobs 8. (philosophy)

9. the sufferings and death of a Christian martyr /ˈpæʃən/noun 1. the sufferings of Christ from the Last Supper to his death on the cross 2. any of the four Gospel accounts of this 3. a musical setting of this: the St Matthew Passion n.

Sense extended to sufferings of martyrs, and suffering generally, by early 13c.; meaning “strong emotion, desire” is attested from late 14c., from Late Latin use of passio to render Greek pathos. Replaced Old English þolung (used in glosses to render Latin passio), literally “suffering,” from þolian (v.) “to endure.”

Sense of “sexual love” first attested 1580s; that of “strong liking, enthusiasm, predilection” is from 1630s. The passion-flower so called from 1630s.

The name passionflower — flos passionis — arose from the supposed resemblance of the corona to the crown of thorns, and of the other parts of the flower to the nails, or wounds, while the five sepals and five petals were taken to symbolize the ten apostles — Peter … and Judas … being left out of the reckoning. [“Encyclopaedia Britannica,” 1885]

Only once found, in Acts 1:3, meaning suffering, referring to the sufferings of our Lord.

[pash-uh-nl] /ˈpæʃ ə nl/ adjective 1. of, relating to, or marked by passion. 2. caused or accompanied by passion: a passional crime. noun 3. a book containing descriptions of the sufferings of saints and martyrs, for reading on their festivals. /ˈpæʃənəl/ adjective 1. of, relating to, or due to passion or the passions noun 2. […]

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